'Ip Man: The Final Flight' to open Hong Kong fest

In this Feb. 21, 2013 photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the ambassador of the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival Mariam Yeung attends a press conference in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong International Film Festival will start on March 17. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Jin Yi) NO SALES

HONG KONG (AP) — "Ip Man: The Final Fight," about the latter years of the Wing Chun master Ip Man, will open the Hong Kong International Film Festival next month.

The martial arts master has been portrayed many times on the big screen, most recently by Tony Leung in Wong Kar Wai's "The Grandmaster."

Anthony Wong, the new film's leading man, said comparing the roles was hard because he plays a different time in Ip Man's life. He plays Ip Man from his arrival in Hong Kong in 1949 until his death.

"There are photos of Ip during this time of his life, there is a video of him practicing with wooden sticks for me to portray," Wong said at a news conference Thursday to announce the festival's lineup. "However, how he talked, how he behaved, no one really knows. That left a lot for the imagination, but in comparison, there are references for the Ip Man that I portray."